WFP runs out of food stocks in Gaza

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has run out of food in the Gaza Strip as Israel continues to block the entry of all humanitarian aid into the enclave, home to over two million people. 

On Friday, WFP announced it had delivered its last remaining supplies to kitchens preparing hot meals which are expected to be completely gone within days.

The UN agency warned that it may be forced to end critical assistance to families unless urgent action is taken.

Back to ‘breaking point’

“The situation inside the Gaza Strip has once again reached a breaking point: people are running out of ways to cope, and the fragile gains made during the short ceasefire have unravelled,” it said.

The kitchens have been the only consistent source of food assistance in Gaza for weeks, representing a critical lifeline even though they reached just half the population with only a quarter of their daily food needs.

WFP also supported 25 bakeries which all fully closed on 31 March as wheat flour and cooking fuel ran out. Furthermore, food parcels distributed to families – containing two weeks of rations – were exhausted that same week.

No aid for nearly two months

No humanitarian or commercial supplies have entered Gaza for more than seven weeks as all main border points remain closed. 

UN agencies and senior officials, including Secretary-General António Guterres, have repeatedly appealed for humanitarian access.

WFP said the closure is the longest that Gaza has faced, and it is exacerbating already fragile markets and food systems. 

Open aid corridors

Food prices have skyrocketed 1,400 per cent compared to the ceasefire period earlier in the year, while essential food commodities are in short supply.

This is raising serious concern about malnutrition – especially for young children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, older people, and other vulnerable persons.

Meanwhile, more than 116,000 metric tonnes of food assistance – enough to feed a million people for up to four months – are ready and waiting to be brought into Gaza by WFP and partners as soon as borders reopen.

“WFP urges all parties to prioritize the needs of civilians and allow aid to enter Gaza immediately and uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law,” the agency said.

Recent increase in Israeli attacks

The UN human rights office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory highlighted the deteriorating situation in both Gaza and the West Bank in a statement published on Friday.

It said that over the last 18 months, the lives of 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza have been devasted by hostilities, severe restrictions on humanitarian assistance, and the destruction of nearly all essential infrastructure.

“Since the collapse of the ceasefire, and during the past week in particular, Israeli attacks on Palestinians have accelerated, claiming the lives of countless civilians and further risking the complete destruction of what little infrastructure remains.” 

Displacement orders and “Israeli’s renewed complete blockade of the Gaza Strip” have further exacerbated the situation.

Desperation stokes unrest

The statement noted that “as the population becomes increasingly desperate due to the scarcity of food and other vital provisions, social unrest is deepening further, with frequent reports of disputes breaking out within the community involving the use of firearms.”

This is unfolding “in an environment where the law enforcement and justice system has been systematically dismantled by Israeli attacks and the targeting of civilian officials of the local administration.”

The Israeli military also continues to target civilian infrastructure in Gaza that is critical to survival.

Between 21 and 22 April, deliberate and coordinated attacks across three governorates resulted in the destruction of 36 heavy machines used in humanitarian relief operations, such as excavators, water trucks, and sewer suction tanks.

Their destruction “is likely to significantly hinder rescue operations, including retrieval of the injured and killed from under the rubble, clearance of debris to allow the movement of ambulances, as well as delivery of safe drinking water, solid waste collection, and the operation of sewage systems – further risking outbreaks of disease.”

Homes under fire

Strikes against shelters also continue. Between 18 March and 22 April. OHCHR’s Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory recorded 229 attacks on residential buildings, and 91 attacks on tents for displaced people.  Most resulted in fatalities, including many children and women.

The Office said persistent Israeli military attacks on civilians and civilian objects have continued throughout Gaza in violation of the core principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution, as required by international humanitarian law. 

“Extremely high civilian casualties over 18 months do not appear to have prompted any changes in Israeli targeting practices and policies, a pattern indicating at the very least a complete disregard for the lives of civilians in Gaza,” it said.

“Matched with Israel’s policy of deliberately blocking life-saving assistance from entering the Gaza Strip, these policies appear to be aimed at punishing the civilian population of Gaza and inflicting on them conditions of life increasingly incompatible with their continued existence as a group in Gaza.”

Settler violence in the West Bank

Meanwhile in the West Bank, “rampant settler violence and operations conducted by Israeli security forces” continue to kill or injure Palestinians or force them from their homes or shelters in many areas.

In one incident on 23 April, settlers reportedly attacked Palestinians and their property in a village in Ramallah.  Eight young Palestinian men were injured, and three agricultural structures were destroyed. Other “concerning incidents” were recorded elsewhere in the West Bank.

The statement noted that Israeli security forces have killed 192 children in the West Bank since 7 October 2023 – the date Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups launched deadly attacks on Israel. 

Additionally, the large-scale Israeli operation in the northern West Bank has now entered a third month, with Israeli security forces continuing to prevent Palestinians from returning to their homes in the Jenin and Tulkarm refugee camps.

“With every day this operation continues, the prospect that Palestinians in affected camps will be able to return to their homes is diminishing, risking the permanent displacement of Palestinians from key West Bank population centres, amounting to forcible transfer,” the statement warned.